Human catapult 'missed the net'

Mr Yankov died after being fired from a replica medieval catapult

A man died after a catapult stunt went wrong and he missed the net that was supposed to catch him, a court heard.

Kostadin Yankov, 19, died during the stunt on 24 November 2002 at Middlemoor Water Park in Fiddington, Somerset.

The device operators, Richard Wicks, 33, from Burnham-on-Sea, and David Aitkenhead, 45, of Bridgwater are accused of being grossly negligent.

They both deny the charges of manslaughter. The case at Bristol Crown Court continues.

The catapult was designed and built by the two defendants.

Mr Yankov, known as Dino, was studying biochemistry at Oxford University.

Opening the case, Phillip Mott QC said: "Dino was thrown from a human catapult on that day.

"He missed the net towards which he was thrown, he hit the ground and was killed."